As we near the end of the year, the temperatures start to plummet down towards freezing and beyond especially towards the North of the UK, and this means possible frost damage to your favourite plants. Even the increase in wind strengths and heavier rains, matched with low temperatures can have adverse effects on your garden. With this horticultural fleece you get a 16 metres by 1 metre roll of their fleece material to do with as you please. Having the extra material means you can double wrap more delicate plants, or cut longer pieces to cover entire beds. Different grades of crop cover give different levels of warmth and protection; light fleece (17g per sq m) for instance, gives less protection but better light penetration (and is cheaper) than heavy duty fleece (35g per sq m). The latter might be used to protect tender plants and the former to advance young crops of seedlings. Wind protection Late summer and autumn: In late summer and autumn crop covers can allow tender crops such as cucumbers and bush tomatoes to ripen. Autumn sowings can be protected over winter to allow earlier crops than spring sowing; carrots and chard for example.

If you don’t have a greenhouse, one alternative for plants in pots is to bury them in the ground, pot and all. It might sound strange, but the warmer soil below the surface can help provide enough warmth to save your plants from frost damage. Make sure your garden water drainage is spot on Fleece and other crop covers have many of the same downsides as cloches. These include; Encouraging pests and diseases The covers, no matter what size you buy, are made from 35GSm polypropylene, which is a strong and durable material. However, these have been made quite thin to let moisture and air through, so you will still have to be a little careful with them to make sure you don’t tear them.If you’re thinking that being UV resistant means that light won’t get to your plants inside the cover, there’s no need to worry. These transparent covers will still allow light to pass through them and keep your plants alive and healthy. You also get a drawstring and zipper with these so it should make fitting them around the most difficult plants all that bit easier. If you are looking for something to protect your garden beds, especially ones with new plantings, a natural material like coconut fibre or hessian like the GardenMate Hessian Jute Burlap can be a good choice, and can act as a temporary mulch. Natural fibres like these are biodegradable and will not harm your plants. Durability and price Using garden fleece encourages your plants to grow faster due to the increased soil and air temperature. Horticultural fleece also promotes heathier growth while reducing disease build-up. If you are covering smaller plants, it might be a good idea to go out and measure them as you could save money by using a single large fleece to protect multiple plants. For larger, or oddly shaped plants, you might be better off with a roll of material that you can wrap around it. How delicate are the plants?

Spring: Covered tender plants can be sown or planted out earlier than if uncovered by about two weeks in spring. Crucially crop covers prevent overheating by allowing heat to escape through holes built into them during manufacture. Unpierced transparent polythene sheeting or bubblewrap, for example, would not only lead to excess moisture but damage plants by excess heat on sunny days even in mid-spring. Raised humidity levels and subsequent soft, lush growth produced when growing under crop covers encourages diseases such as Botrytis and downy mildew. The accompanying higher temperatures and abundance of lush foliage also create an ideal environment for many pests when the crops are finally uncovered. Encouraging weeds Our specially designed garden fleece is lightweight and can be laid on top of tender plants and vegetables. Weighing 17gsm it will still let light, air and moisture in. How To Use Garden Fleece If you own a greenhouse, you can house many of your plants through the winter with no real need to cover the plants individually with fleece, saving you money. Depending on the plant, you might have to have the greenhouse insulated better, or fit a greenhouse heating system in the greenhouse to ensure that the plants survive. Fleece is not durable and 17g fleece is usually replaced annually although 35g fleece can give more than one season’s use. Fleece is very vulnerable to fox damage.Insect-pollinated crops such as strawberries and courgettes are unsuited to growing under crop covers during their flowering period. Sustainability

Conditions ideal for crop growth are also ideal for weed growth. Transplants are likely to out-grow germinating weed seedlings, but direct-sown crops may have competition. Unfortunately, it is usually necessary to uncover plants every two to three weeks to hoe, weed and also thinseed sown plants. Pollination problems They are especially useful for covering seeds, transplants and rooted cuttings. Fleece-covered crops can be harvested 2 weeks ahead of crops in the open.Unlike polythene, fleece can be left on all summer (to exclude pests, for example). Fleece can also be double-layered for extra frost protection, and can be used beneath glass or plastic cloches and in cold frames and greenhouses for extra insulation. Crop covers break the impact of heavy rain and protect the soil to some extent from mechanical damage that can lead to significant surface compaction limiting seed emergence and growth of young plants. Pest and disease protection While the two above products do provide convenience and speed, there are limits to how they can be used, such as plant dimensions. Some people still prefer to buy a large roll of material that they cut down to size themselves for the versatility it provides them. If you are more to this way of thinking, then the Ambassador frost protection plant fleece might be for you.Like we said earlier, wrapping your plants in a cover made of fleece, hessian burlap, or something of that ilk, is one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep them safe in the winter. Fleece: Polypropylene fleece (horticultural fleece or 'fleece') can be used for tunnel cloches and floating films. These trap good warmth, are inexpensive, allow rain and pesticide sprays through and, being porous, allow excess heat and humidity to escape. Adding a layer of mulch to the base of your plants can help protect them in a number of ways, but one of the main benefits of mulching before winter is that it can protect the plants roots from frost damage. This is probably the easiest and most actionable of all the options I have for you, this along with the next two options. Mulch can help protect against frost Don’t pay for a fleece – use debris netting or an old net curtain All being said, this is an excellent, albeit slightly limited product, that would be best used in conjunction with one of the lighter covers to provide complete protection. Be sure to sort any drainage problems you have with your soil before winter hits. Poorly draining soil is not great at the best of times, but in winter it can be a killer. For your plants anyway. This is due to the trapped water freezing in very cold temperatures, and thus causing damage to the plants. Shelter out of icy winds

Woven meshes: Woven polythene covers such as Envirotect are durable and resist foxes to a considerable extent. The best time to start using overnight protection for tender crops and other plants in the UK is between November and mid-February. Using crop protection, even in mild wet weather can help them to thrive without the issues caused by frost, too much sunlight and insect damage. All of our garden fleece products are UV stabilised and rot-proof and offer plenty of benefits including: Here are a few ideas that you can try to prevent not just frost, but other winter damage such as water logging and soil erosion, this winter. Adding a layer of mulch We sell garden fleece by the roll and by the metre. To buy garden fleece online simply measure the area you want to cover and calculate how much fleece you need. We recommend covering as much of the area as possible and if necessary using a double-layer for added protection. Best value: Ambassador Frost Protection Plant Fleece Best frost protection fleece for plants buyers guide

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The material is quite thin at only 17 GSM, and very lightweight, but it is surprisingly strong, especially when you wrap with a double layer. The thinness of the fleece has its advantages, such as allowing a good amount of air and moisture to get through to the plants within, but I don’t think it would last more than a couple of winters before needing replacing. Then again, that could be said for most of these kinds of products. Crop covers work by warmth from the sun raising temperatures by a few degrees, typically 2°C, compared to uncovered plants. This can advance maturity or flowering by about two weeks.